If Newt Gingrich were a Mormon I'd still support him 100%, or if DeMint or Barbour or Jindal were Mormons and they were running I'd support them 100% too, and I don't give a red cent about what Obama would talk about.

You want to be obsessed with Mormons, you go ahead, but come clean and admit that's YOUR personal scab to scratch, OK???

90 posted on 02/23/2012 2:43:46 PM PST by Notary Sojac
(A liberal, a conservative, and a moderate walk into a bar. The bartender says, "Hi. Mitt!!".)

So if a wica person wants to be president, thats ok? How about a devil worshipper? Or a moonie is ok?

If our president has grandiose delusions of being a god, thats ok? If he thinks he will have his own planet thats ok? How about calling Jesus satans brother? Or saying Mary had sex with God the Father?......

I can see it now. Obama making jokes about romney’s planet, “maybe he’ll get his own galaxy.” “Can he run the country from lightyears away?” How about the saturday night live skits of romney saying take me to your leader and he goes to Europe......

94 posted on 02/23/2012 5:53:26 PM PST by Linda Frances
(Only God can change a heart, but we can pray for hearts to be changed.)

Where did we come from? Mormons teach that before we were borncalled the preexistence--we lived as spirit beings in a heavenly realm with our heavenly parents. Our heavenly parents were God the Father (named Elohim) and one of his wives. In other words, each human being was born as a spirit baby to two resurrected people; Elohim and a mother. Since Elohim has an unknown number of wives, we all shared the same father but had different mothers.

Prior to the preexistence we existed as separate entities called intelligences. While LDS doctrine does not address what an intelligence is, it does say that there were various degrees of progression among the intelligences and that only the best and the brightest progressed to become spirit beings in preparation for mortality. The rest of creation (the earth, animals, plants, insects, all the way down to individual cells that make up the human body) , were created spiritually first, from the pool of remaining intelligences before the physical creation.

Life in the spirit world was called the First Estate, Where we were tutored by our heavenly parents side, learning the way of salvation and growing in wisdom and knowledge. Some spirits advanced more quickly than others, most notably of which was Jehovah (Jesus pre-mortal name); our eldest spirit brother and first-born son of heavenly Father and Mother. One day, as the time for the next step in our eternal progression approached, a great family council in heaven was called. God the Father explained we would need a Savior, as all would sin and some would lose their way back to Him. He asked whom he should send.

Mormon teaching says that at that point Jehovah stepped forward and offered to be Savior of mankind; allowing people the freedom to choose whether or not to follow him (free agency) and he would give Heavenly Father all the glory. Jesus knew we needed free will to choose obedience to the gospel in order to prove ourselves worthy of exaltation (godhood).

Lucifer then stood before the council and stated he would go down as savior of mankind and guarantee that not one soul would be lost. He would use coercion to enforce obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel, thus assuring that everyone would make it through mortality worthy enough to gain exaltation. There was only one catch; Lucifer demanded all the honor and glory for doing it.

Mormon scripture records that Heavenly Father then said, I will send the first (Abraham 3:27, Pearl of Great Price). A great brouhaha followed, with Lucifer rebelling and a war in heaven ensuing, resulting in Lucifer (thereafter known as Satan) and a third of the spirits beings cast out of heaven down to the earth, never to receive mortal bodies.

The preceding leads up to why we are here. Just as we progressed from intelligence to spirit being, according to Mormon doctrine, we advanced as spirit children in degree of valiancy, loyalty, and worthiness. Those who did not follow Satan were said to have kept their first estate, qualifying them to be born into mortality to receive a body of flesh. Some of the Fathers children fought so valiantly at the side of Jehovah and Michael (the latter who would come into the world as Adam) that they were chosen to be prophets and leaders down through the ages. One of the most valiant spirits was Joseph Smith, set apart to be the greatest leader (next to Jesus Christ) of all dispensations of time. As LDS scripture attests, "Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it" (Doctrine & Covenants 135:3)

Spirit children who were not as courageous, but still the cream of the crop, were reserved to be born into faithful Mormon homes in these Latter Days (the period of time between Joseph Smith and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ). Those who were valiant in the preexistence, but not stellar enough to make it into an LDS home, were reserved for the Last Days to become converts to Mormonism at some point in their mortal lives. Spirit children who chose the side of Jesus, but did not fight valiantly on his side were sent to earth during less enlightened times. LDS leaders at one time taught that fence-sitters were born with dark skin (any non-Caucasians). Nevertheless, every individual keeping their first estate would receive a mortal body on earth, known as the second estate. According to Mormon doctrine we are here to get a mortal body, gain experience, be tested, and progress toward godhood. Where we go after we die depends on several factors. In Mormon theology there are three degrees of gloryor heavenly realmsin which people end up. Essentially, everybody goes to heaven. A person can be as wicked and evil as Hitler and still get a degree of glory that far surpasses anything like this earth. The three main divisions from lowest to highest are the Telestial, Terrestrial, and Celestial kingdoms. Within each division are various levels to which one can attain, however, there is no kingdom hopping. In other words, someone in the Telestial Kingdom cannot advance to the Terrestrial or Celestial kingdoms, nor can a Terrestrial being advance to the Celestial kingdom. People in higher kingdoms can visit lower kingdoms, but not vice versa.

The Telestial kingdom is reserved for murderers, blasphemers, liars, adulterers, fornicators, and other lascivious sinners. Those who go to this kingdom must pay for their own sins by suffering the torments of hell for a thousand years during Christs millennial reign here on earth. When that period of time is up they come forth in the second resurrection and dwell in the lowest of the heavens for the rest of eternity, enjoying eternal paradise and being ministered to by the Holy Ghost.

The Terrestrial kingdom is reserved for the honorable people of the earth; those who were moral and upright, but rejected the LDS gospel. Latter-day Saints who were lukewarm about their membership in the Church will also be assigned to this kingdom. People attaining the Terrestrial Kingdom will be able to have Jesus Christ minister to them, but will not see God the Father.

An inheritance in this glorious kingdom [the Celestial Kingdom] is gained by complete obedience to gospel or celestial law By devotion and faithfulness, by enduring to the end in righteousness and obedience, it is then possible to merit a celestial reward (Bruce R. McKonkie, Mormon Doctrine, 1966, p. 116).

To advance to the highest degree of glory within the Celestial Kingdom, one must be married in the LDS Temple by one of the authorized brethren holding the Melchizedek priesthood. This allows the couple to achieve godhood, thereby obtaining the ability to create and populate their own worlds. Mormons who lived the gospel and were worthy enough to merit the Celestial Kingdom, but did not make the godhood track (i.e., did not marry), will serve as angels ministering to those who achieve godhood.

The Mormon gospel is very works-based and denies the completed work of grace accomplished on the cross by Jesus Christ. It is almost Universalist in nature, in that everyoneregardless of religion or belief--goes to some degree of heaven. The only exception is what Mormonism calls Sons of Perdition; those

who gain a perfect knowledge of the divinity of the gospel cause [Mormonism], a knowledge that comes only by revelation from the Holy Ghost, and then link themselves with Lucifer and come out in open rebellion Their destiny, following the resurrection, is to be cast out with the devil and his angels, and inherit the same kingdom in a state where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched (Ibid. p 746).

The goal of Mormonism is to perfect the saints, bringing them to a state of exaltation, as they believe God is; an exalted man.

On the other hand, the whole design of the gospel is to lead us onward and upward to greater achievement, even, eventually, to godhood. This great possibility was enunciated by the Prophet Joseph Smith in the King Follet sermon (see Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 34262; and emphasized by President Lorenzo Snow. It is this grand and incomparable concept: As God now is, man may become! (See The Teachings of Lorenzo Snow, comp. Clyde J. Williams, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1984, p. 1.) (Gordon B. Hinckley, Dont Drop the Ball, Ensign, Nov 1994, 46)